> Non-member submission from [claudia.chandler@kvaerner.com]
>
> I am confused about Australian patent numbers. I ordered AU564505
> (870813) AND AU639998 (930812) and for the former received a document
> titled "Application for a Standard" (even though the Inpadoc record
> lists this document as a "B" or examined patent) and for the latter I
> only received a PCT document (WO91/14651) with the patent number
> 639998 stamped on it in the Published space on the front page.
To take the second case first-
Chris Torrero is quite correct that AU republishes WO documents with an AU
number when they enter the national phase, but these WO/AU documents only
serve to replace the AU-A (unexamined) stage. After substantive
examination, a genuine AU-B with a final registration number in the 6-digit
series would be published, containing the claims as they had been approved
in AU. So it looks as if your document supplier have decided to send you
the unexamined equivalent of what you actually asked for, and in this
particular case that has turned out to be a WO/AU document.
The AU564505 case is a bit more puzzling. That would seem on the surface
to be a genuine AU-B number. Are you sure it doesn't say "Application for
a standard *patent*", rather than "Application for a standard"? This is a
terminology which could be used to distinguish it from an application for a
petty patent; the US equivalents would be utility patent and something akin
to a design patent. If so, then you may have once again been sent the
unexamined equivalent of the granted patent. Check your document
supplier. Unfortunately some of the smaller ones do get into the habit of
converting requests for granted documents into the nearest unexamined
equivalent, which may not be suitable for your needs.
> Are
> AU564505 and AU 639998 in fact real live Australian examined patents or
> are they applications which will never be granted patents?
In both cases, the six-digit series is indicative of examined patents.
Strictly, there is a number series which duplicates the application number
but with a B suffix, followed by a final registration number in the 6-digit
series. The whole sequence, if it includes a provisional application, is
as follows:
Provisional filing : Application number format Pa-NNNN, where 'a' is a
second letter (currently O or P I think)
Main filing : Application number AU-A-NNNNN/YY, which in Derwent-speak is
rendered as YYYYAU-NNNNNNN.
Unexamined publication : Publication number AU-A-NNNNN/YY, rendered by
Derwent as AU-YYNNNNN-A. Note that the YY component is the year of
application, not publication.
Examined publication : Publication number AU-B-NNNNN/YY, where the number
and year are the same as for the A.
Granted registration number : Publication number AU-NNNNNN-B.
For further details, the PIUG web site contains a reference to my paper in
World Patent Information a few years ago "Patent documentation from the
Pacific Rim countries", which goes into more detail.
> Also, why
> does the WPI database not include these patent numbers in their patent
> family listings. Inpadoc does cover them as separate records.
Derwent did not cover AU-B documents until 1993. So you won't find a
record of your first case, and the second one may just have missed the
boat.
Hope this helps,
-- Stephen Adams Magister Ltd. Crown House, 231 Kings Road, Reading, RG1 4LS, GB Tel: +44 (0)118 929 9515 Fax: +44 (0)118 929 9516 e-mail: stevea@magister.co.ukRegistered in England and Wales. Company No. 3407685 Registered address : Canada House, 272 Field End Road, Eastcote, Ruislip, Middlesex HA4 9NA.